The present invention is directed to systems and methods for installing decorative molding in a building's interior space, and more particularly to a molding assembly and method of installing molding more quickly and easily in either a new construction or finished interior space, and for installing molding in an interior space having a suspended ceiling.
It is often desirable for buildings' interior spaces to have decorative trim at the top of interior walls. This is usually where the walls meet the ceiling and can be referred to as crown molding. When a building is being built, crown molding is usually installed after nearly all other construction is complete. The timing may be undesirable as there are usually many different types of finishing work that must be coordinated at the same time. Further, many interior spaces require that a suspended ceiling be used, usually to provide ready maintenance access to ventilation and other equipment. Since the suspended ceiling is not structural, the usual method of attaching crown molding to the wall and ceiling does not work. To compensate, a support block must be made to provide an attachment point to the wall, at the top of the molding, near the ceiling. This method adds time and complexity to the process, as well as cost.
Further, crown molding can be added as a decorative addition to an interior space that is already completed and in use. Many times, this is done by individual homeowners to improve the appearance of the space. Installing crown molding can prove a difficult task for a nonprofessional installer. Because of the angle of the molding between the wall and ceiling, making proper corner joints requires precise measurements prior to cutting. A preferred method for installing corner joints is accomplished by scribing the profile of the adjoining surfaces and coping the proper angle—a difficult task for an inexperienced installer. Also, because the molding is attached by fasteners through the decorative face, finishing work must be performed to fill holes.
There are several methods in the current art to address these issues. The example described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,835 to Wood illustrates a method for affixing crown molding without attaching to the ceiling surface (see FIG. 4). This method, however, still requires that the walls are built and finished, still pushing the timing to the critical finishing period of construction. Further, the method described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,835 also requires the installer to calculate the proper angles to ensure proper assembly. Also note that the method described in FIG. 4 requires several discrete components (not including fasteners).
Another method, detailed in application Ser. No. 11/074,231 by Spek (filed Mar. 7, 2005), requires two interlocking pieces which form the support and face of the molding. This method addresses the difficulty of making suitable cuts resulting in good corner joints by including a system of pre-made corners (see FIGS. 6a, 6b, 7 and 8). Again, similar to the Wood patent discussed above, this method assumes the wall is finished before installation.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,643,990 B2, inventor Jensen describes a one-piece system that is adhered to the ceiling as a method of support (see FIG. 4). This would not be useful in an application where a suspended ceiling is to be used. Further, the lack of any internal support structure limits the load that can be applied to the molding.
In U.S. Pat. No. 7,200,970 inventor Koenig describes a molding system that attaches to a constructed, but not finished wall (or ceiling) surface. After the molding is attached to the panel, finishing work (standard to the art) finishes the wall/ceiling surface at the molding, concealing the fasteners and attachment flange. Although this method does incorporate the molding into the finished wall, it does not allow for the molding to be installed prior to wall/ceiling panel installation. Further, the finishing process for wall panels is a time consuming process. It would be desirable to be able to install crown molding in such a way that requires no finishing at the crown molding.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/336,235 (Clements et al.; filed Jan. 20, 2006) describes a system of hiding fasteners used to affix molding to walls and/or ceilings. Note that this method relies on standard installation practices and molding styles with the added functionality to hide the fasteners within the decorative face. As applied to crown molding in the application, the molding angles must still be calculated to form correct corners. Further, the fasteners are described as being set into a “kerf”. This kerf is described as running horizontally the length of the molding, with two used at different heights on the decorative face of the molding. This allows two fasteners, one high and one low, to be placed through the decorative face of the molding affixing the molding to the wall and ceiling (see FIGS. 15, 16 and 17). Note that the kerf described has a width and a depth, and is not located at either the top or bottom edge of the molding. Also note that the means for filling the kerf does not provide any support function, and provides no decorative functionality beyond filling the kerf and hiding the fasteners.